Belmont Cragin Now Chicago’s Largest Latino Neighborhood
Summary
By Francia Garcia Hernandez
September 17, 2026
CHICAGO — Little Village, one of the city’s most historic Latino neighborhoods, is no longer home to the largest Latino population in Chicago, a new study found.
Belmont Cragin is now home to the largest Latino population with nearly 58,000 people, compared to 56,000 people in Little Village, according to the study by the Great Cities Institute at the University of Illinois Chicago.
The report, titled “Latino Chicago and the Future of the City,” looked at U.S. Census data and state and local government data and found that Chicago’s Latino population has grown significantly, expanding its presence citywide and becoming essential to the city’s economy.
“We played a critical role and made it possible for Chicago’s economy to evolve after it lost population and manufacturing jobs,” said José Miguel Acosta Córdova, policy manager for the Illinois Legislative Latino Caucus Foundation and one of the report’s co-authors.
As the Latino population has increased and its middle class is growing, the city’s neighborhoods are also changing, the study found.
Latinos are no longer concentrated in certain parts of the city and now live throughout the city, with a strong presence on the Northwest, Southwest and Southeast sides.
As gentrification intensified, Latinos have moved beyond the borders of historically Latino neighborhoods such as Pilsen, Logan Square, Irving Park, Humboldt Park, Avondale and Albany Park, the study found.
The report confirms changes that nonprofits have noticed in recent years as they provide services for Chicagoans, said Ricardo Estrada, president and CEO of Metropolitan Family Services, which supported the report’s creation.
“If you asked the average resident, they would probably say Little Village is the largest Latino neighborhood,” Estrada said. “The reality is it hasn’t been Little Village for a long time.”
The neighborhood shifts come as the Latino population in Chicago has grown significantly to over 801,000 people — making up roughly 30 percent of the city’s population. More than 50 percent are 35 years old or younger.
Some of the largest increases in Latino population have occurred in traditionally non-majority Latino neighborhoods, including Austin, Garfield Ridge, Chicago Lawn, Ashburn, Clearing and West Lawn, according to the study.
Housing costs and availability are some of the main factors shaping where Latinos live, according to the study.
While some neighborhoods with lower housing costs have seen an influx of Latino neighbors, the Latino population has decreased in gentrifying neighborhoods like Logan Square, Avondale, Albany Park and West Town.
At the same time, Latinos are buying homes in several historically Black neighborhoods, suggesting these could change in the future, Acosta Córdova said. In Austin, West Garfield Park and West Englewood, Latinos received the largest share of home loans, according to the study.
Austin saw the city’s largest increase in the Latino population from 2019 to 2023, compared to 2010, according to the report.
The report, published almost a decade after UIC’s report studying the city’s Latino neighborhoods, comes on the heels of Operation Midway Blitz. A different UIC study released this month found that Cook County has lost roughly $1.26 billion in commercial activity and about $107 million in tax revenue since ICE enforcement increased last year.
Still, Latino commercial corridors largely contribute to the city’s economy.
In 2024, 16 primarily Latino commercial corridors generated approximately $1.76 billion in taxable sales, according to the study. These bustling and diverse corridors house family-owned businesses, create jobs and attract visitors from the city and suburbs, contributing to the local economy.
“[Latinos are] the engine of the city,” Acosta Córdova said.
“We supply its labor force. We are contributing significantly in tax dollars. We’re rebuilding houses. We’re staying in public schools. It’s something that should be celebrated,” he said.
As neighborhoods grow their share of Latinos, majority-Latino commercial corridors have grown and changed too.
In 2024, West Fullerton Avenue in Belmont Cragin generated $181 million in sales, surpassing Little Village’s commercial corridor on 26th Street, known as the second Mag Mile, which generated $177 million.
Little Village’s commercial corridor had the highest number of businesses — with 294 in 2024 — which attract visitors from across the city and country, according to the study.
“The contributions we’re making to the city are significant, especially because a lot of these areas are underinvested, and it’s Latino entrepreneurs and business owners that are bringing these back to life,” Acosta Córdova said.
The report’s authors hope these findings can guide public policy and help address some of the challenges Latinos face, while recognizing that these vary from neighborhood to neighborhood and there isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution, Acosta Córdova said.
“There isn’t a neighborhood where there aren’t Latinos. Public policy needs to be able to respond to that accordingly,” he said.
A Diverse Latino Population
While the Southwest and Southeast sides are home to a largely Mexican population, the Northwest Side is home to Latinos from diverse national backgrounds, including those from Central and South American countries, according to the study.
Large populations of Ecuadorians, Colombians, Bolivians and Venezuelans call the city home, with Ecuadorians making up the city’s largest and most concentrated South American community, according to the report. Meanwhile, Salvadorans are the largest Central American group, followed by Guatemalans and Hondurans.
While researchers used census data from 2019-2023, which captured the beginning of the influx of South American migrants and asylum-seekers, the report found Venezuelans are one of the city’s fastest-growing populations.
Venezuelans have settled on the city’s North Side, Northwest Side, Southwest Side and Southeast sides, according to the study.
The diversity of Chicago’s Latino population is reflected in its commercial corridors, particularly in Belmont Cragin, which houses businesses owned by Latinos from various national origins.
“The growth on Fullerton has been significant, and when you compare it to 26th Street, which is overwhelmingly Mexican, Fullerton is more diverse,” Acosta Córdova said.
Latinos Are Growing, But Challenges Remain
The 175-page report also shows where the Latino population has advanced. More Latinos have household incomes above $100,000 than in 2010, and they also have higher rates of college attainment, according to the report.
While more Latinos are working in management, business, science and the arts — 28 percent compared to 17 percent roughly a decade ago — Latinos are still essential in the manufacturing, construction, transportation, logistics, hospitality and service industries.
Housing remains one of the most pressing challenges for Latinos in Chicago. One in every three Latino homeowners and almost one in every two Latino renters are cost-burdened, the study found.
Still, housing costs and homeownership rates vary across the city.
In the city’s Brown Belt on the Southwest Side, where housing is relatively affordable, new middle-income Latino communities have emerged, and homeownership rates are higher. On the Northwest Side, Belmont Cragin and Portage Park have the largest concentration of middle- and upper-income Latinos, according to the report.
As the Latino population has grown and changed, the city’s infrastructure has not kept up, according to the report.
Many Latinos do not have easy access to the city’s public transportation system. Belmont Cragin has no direct access to CTA trains. Large parts of the Southeast and Southwest sides also fall outside the train’s service area and rely heavily on buses.
At the same time, Latino workers in construction, landscaping and manufacturing industries cannot rely on public transit as they need access to private vehicles to transport equipment or move to scattered job sites.
Many of the city’s Latinos also live in neighborhoods with environmental burdens and very little green space. This is especially concentrated on the city’s South Side, home to industrial and freight corridors, more truck traffic and diesel emissions and pollution, according to the study.
These findings show officials and decision-makers that Latino neighborhoods face varying challenges and needs, so policies and investments need to be tailored, Acosta Córdova said.
“There are so many good things happening in these communities with limited institutional support. Imagine what [else] we could do,” Acosta Córdova said.